VIA Rail

[urbanclient]

Which is entirely Via's own fault because they're the ones who create the expectation that an employee would ever move a customer's bag.

Who here has ever been kicked off or seen anyone kicked off an intercity or HSR in Eurasia because their bag was 1.36 kg overweight? Exactly... Are Via employees seriously dumb enough to try moving a bag that is obviously overweight? They're not package couriers forced to haul 100 lb packages from the curb to your front door. They're not airport baggage handlers.

Let's be real here. Only in Canada could something so asinine happen. Weight limits for train baggage virtually everywhere else are de facto guidelines.

I have never had train baggage weighed, abroad or in Canada. But now I know to watch out for this next time I use Via...

Some people seem to forget that if you successfully sneak in an excessively heavy suitcase (and anything beyond 23 kg is for good reasons deamed excessive across the transportation industry), you don‘t hurt VIA, but any unsuspecting VIA employee which unknowingly risks a work injury by trying to perform their job (which includes handling luggage).

So if you are too irresponsible to understand that there is no safe way to haul an overweight suitcase 100+ cm up or down and too incompetent to repack your suitcase within 2 minutes to remove just enough items to shed the excessive weight, then you should have probably paid for an accompanying person which holds your hand and steps in whenever you are about to make a decision which violates the very notion of common sense…

 

[APTA-2048]

My issue lies with the assumption that VIA staff will be helping to transport the baggage. I have never seen this on VIA or any European rail operator. On every train journey I have ever taken this was the sole responsibility of the passenger to handle their own baggage and ensure that they can lift it onto the train whether at a high or low platform. I have never seen staff offer to help. Perhaps this was the case in the past, but I have only started traveling by rail in my adult life less than 10 years ago. I have linked the baggage policies of the foreign operators I am most familiar with.

My apologies if this is just needlessly rambling.

Train Travel with Luggage | National Rail

You’re welcome to bring up to 3 items of luggage on the train, at no extra cost. Here’s everything you need to know about luggage on trains.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

https://www.sncf-voyageurs.com/en/travel-with-us/plan-your-journey/luggage-on-bpard/

Information about taking luggage with you on Deutsche Bahn trains

int.bahn.de

I’ve seen VIA attendants help customers with bags occasionally on The Maple Leaf and on the train to Montreal. Most of the time it was elderly passengers.

 

[Urban Sky]

Who here has ever been kicked off or seen anyone kicked off an intercity or HSR in Eurasia because their bag was 1.36 kg overweight? Exactly... Are Via employees seriously dumb enough to try moving a bag that is obviously overweight? They're not package couriers forced to haul 100 lb packages from the curb to your front door. They're not airport baggage handlers.

Let's be real here. Only in Canada could something so asinine happen. Weight limits for train baggage virtually everywhere else are de facto guidelines.

I have never had train baggage weighed, abroad or in Canada. But now I know to watch out for this next time I use Via...

Okay, so you are trying to convince me that everyone who believes that they can haul and handle a 23+ kg heavy suitcase has considered the awkward fact that he might have to raise or lower that suitcase over a vertical gap of 109 cm while stuck in a narrow staircase?

Rules like the 23 kg have not been smoked up by some bored managers at VIA HQ, but are dnsible rules which unfortunately had to be forced upon them:

Workers who had to lift heavy bags multiple times a day, all day long, for years ended up filing enough CSST (or other workplace-injury-related) claims that the agencies involved eventually required VIA Rail to impose a reasonable single-person, single-arm lifting limit on luggage.

This is why VIA now enforces the ~25 lb carry-on and ~50 lb checked-bag limits — not because it is “the only country on Earth” doing this, but because repeated lifting injuries at low platforms created a regulatory liability that had to be addressed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AltoHSR_Canada/s/njxUmK06pN

 

[urbanclient]

not because it is “the only country on Earth” doing this, but because repeated lifting injuries at low platforms created a regulatory liability that had to be addressed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AltoHSR_Canada/s/njxUmK06pN

You of all people should know this is a uniquely North American over-litigious societal issue cascading to affect Via SOP and baggage policy. And all would easily be remedied by making passengers wholly responsible for moving their own luggage like in Europe.

Quoting @ManyQuestions here:

Train Travel with Luggage | National Rail

You’re welcome to bring up to 3 items of luggage on the train, at no extra cost. Here’s everything you need to know about luggage on trains.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

https://www.sncf-voyageurs.com/en/travel-with-us/plan-your-journey/luggage-on-bpard/

Information about taking luggage with you on Deutsche Bahn trains

int.bahn.de

Note the distinct lack of any hard weight limits.

Also: I wonder how those airport baggage handlers survive without crippling occupational injuries when they have to move and even throw 32 kg baggage from the lowest/2nd lowest elite status flyers. Are we seriously, carrying water for the notion that Via Rail should enforce lower baggage weight limits than airlines?

EDIT: Apparently Via is ok with overweight baggage, as long as you pay for it. Sorry random guy, you're just too poor. That or big daddy Via said ordnung muss sein, wE MuSt fOlLoW RuLeS To tHe lEtTeR.

Turns out via will just kick you off if your bag is over 50lbs. They pulled out a scale well after the train has started boarding (15 minute after scheduled departure with no delay updates as usual) and told a fellow they would just cancel his ticket because it’s 3lbs over 50lbs. Absolutely horrendous service.

 

[Trackside_Treasure]

My issue lies with the assumption that VIA staff will be helping to transport the baggage. I have never seen this on VIA or any European rail operator. On every train journey I have ever taken this was the sole responsibility of the passenger to handle their own baggage...

My apologies if this is just needlessly rambling.

In days of yore the conductor or trainman was known as a 'baby-lifter' by some. That's because he would literally lift the baby in its carrier up or down to the steps of the coach to the parent(s). Same with luggage, though most was at that time handled in a dedicated baggage car, using various mechanisms to lift it up and down to the door of same. Now that VIA has largely done away with checked baggage...

I, too, have not done a scientific study, but I can confirm that it is rare to see many car attendants step in to lift luggage, heavy or otherwise. Sometimes done just to expedite unloading and loading (also often done through a limited number of doors and definitely affecting timekeeping, but that's another thread).

I'm not wishing workplace injuries on anyone, and lines have to be drawn somewhere. I get it. I recently watched a young couple about to board VIA with child wheel their stroller up to the car steps, at which point the attendant had to tell them to collapse it before boarding! Sometimes there's a lack of common sense out there.

 

[micheal_can]

Here is my take on my experience on bag weights on Via.

Unlike airlines, Via does random bag checks, unless you are taking the Canadian. The Canadian, you check your bags unless it is carry on.
In the last year, I have been on about 6 Via trips originating from 5 stations. Only Union Station where I purposely checked my baggage to go home on the Canadian was my bag weighed.

So, here is a thought... Either all bags get checked, or none get checked on a given route. It makes sense to weigh bags on the LDRs at their terminals, but in the middle of nowhere, those bags would have to come on board to get weighed.
Having said that, The Corridor routes, no crew loads our bags. So, why weigh them? If I can lift them safely onto the train, what is the concern?

As I ride Via more and more, I am starting to see more issues with their policies that either should be tightened, modified, or removed all together. This policy is something to be modified to reflect the ways that baggage is handled.

 

[Urban Sky]

You of all people should know this is a uniquely North American over-litigious societal issue cascading to affect Via SOP and baggage policy. And all would easily be remedied by making passengers wholly responsible for moving their own luggage like in Europe.

Thank you for reminding me that I repeatedly hauled 2 suitcases (one holding my gaming PC and the other my 15" LCD screen) and 2 backpacks (all on my own) while commuting between my family's home in Germany and my university in the UK and while changing trains 3 times (i.e., in Frankfurt, Brussels and London, with station change STP<=>KGX or EUS), I would have almost forgotten it otherwise...

Quoting @ManyQuestions here:

Train Travel with Luggage | National Rail

You’re welcome to bring up to 3 items of luggage on the train, at no extra cost. Here’s everything you need to know about luggage on trains.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

https://www.sncf-voyageurs.com/en/travel-with-us/plan-your-journey/luggage-on-bpard/

Information about taking luggage with you on Deutsche Bahn trains

int.bahn.de

Note the distinct lack of any hard weight limits.

Spot the difference:

	Deutsche Bahn (ICE)	VIA Rail Canada	vs. DB (ICE)
Floor/boarding height	96 cm	122 cm (48 inches)	26 cm (or 27%) higher
Platform height (most stations)	76 cm	13 cm (5 inches)	63 cm (or 83%) lower
Vertical gap	20 cm	109 cm (43 inches)	89 cm (or 445%) larger
Number of steps to enter	1 step	5 steps	4 steps (or 400%) more

If VIA Rail only operated at Gare Centrale and Gare du Palais, they would happily adopt European boarding practices, whereas DB or SNCF would never agree to operate a fleet which has one of the worlds' highest boarding heights in the world at platforms which barely rise above the tracks. As I keep repeating: if you desire European-style boarding processes, you first need European-style infrastructure:

Thank you for sharing this great European example of a passenger-centric rail hub, but I believe the most important difference between European rail hubs like Wien Hauptbahnhof and North American rail hubs like Toronto Union only becomes clear when you draw the attention at the width of the platforms and of the vertical access (stairs or escalators):

Source: 5TEF4Ns Blog

Source: Urban Toronto article by Robert Mackenzie


We can laugh all we want about the archaic boarding practices on which VIA insists, but they are a direct consequence of the severe historic underinvestment in rail infrastructure on this continent. If we want passenger-centric boarding processes like across Europe, we'll have to heavily invest into passenger-centric infrastructure first...

Also: I wonder how those airport baggage handlers survive without crippling occupational injuries when they have to move and even throw 32 kg baggage from the lowest/2nd lowest elite status flyers. Are we seriously, carrying water for the notion that Via Rail should enforce lower baggage weight limits than airlines?

Simple: they are not expected to lift a suitcase simultaneously by one meter vertically (i.e., up) and horizontally (i.e., away from them). Try to lift your 32 kg suitcase 20 cm up. Now try the same with your arms stretched out. Please post a video here of any successful attempts. (Actually, please talk to your long-term disability insurance provider before attempting this!!)

EDIT: Apparently Via is ok with overweight baggage, as long as you pay for it. Sorry random guy, you're just too poor. That or big daddy Via said ordnung muss sein, wE MuSt fOlLoW RuLeS To tHe lEtTeR.
View attachment 701825View attachment 701826

Honestly, I have no idea what policies VIA has put in place to mitigate the identified risks when passengers book an overweight suitcase in advance, but why don't you pay the $25 and tell us afterwards what extra measures you noticed...? Also, the purpose of charging a fee is often not to generate extra revenues, but to discourage the use of a certain service you would rather avoid providing...

 

[urbanclient]

Simple: they are not expected to lift a suitcase simultaneously by one meter vertically (i.e., up) and horizontally (i.e., away from them). Try to lift your 32 kg suitcase 20 cm up. Now try the same with your arms stretched out. Please post a video here of any successful attempts. (Actually, please talk to your long-term disability insurance provider before attempting this!!)

Look I'm not out here to judge anyone for how strong they are.

Anecdotally, I brought two oversized duffel bags (dimensionally), one being overweight, along with a ~30 litre plastic bin on the Corridor in 2019 and was not refused boarding. Picture a bag on your left and right with straps slung over their respective opposite shoulder. Had I been refused, I would've been screwed and forced to mail some of the stuff. And no, I was not in Business class, no I did not have to pay for overweight baggage (I hadn't even heard of a weight limit back then), nor was a Via employee morally suaded into helping or even laying a finger on my stuff.

At the end of the day, as is the de facto case for railways throughout the world, if you can manage to move your stuff on and off the train yourself, you are usually allowed to bring it. Why are we ok with excusing edge cases like Via—which no doubt have legitimate occupational health concerns to mitigate—when the solution is pretty obvious.

Via isn't the only railway operator in the world without level boarding at every station, for all its rolling stock, but it is one of the only ones making customers weigh their baggage, all while barely being competitive with short-haul flights.

Shouldering two duffel bags and two-handing a plastic bin is arguably a lot easier than lifting an overweight, dense wheeled suitcase by the top handle up a flight of stairs.

 

[nfitz]

If one is overweight, then I guess one boards at Dorval or Guildwood.

I'm not sure why anyone would be stopped at 23 kg, given the clip above says between 23 kg and 32 kg for a $25 fee. Yeah, I figure 32 kg is starting to get a bit heavy.

I've certainly well exceeded these numbers in the past, when moving to and through to Asia for a few months.

For a 1.5 kg overage, I'd just be putting on some heavy sweaters pretty fast, or putting my heaviest items into a small backpack - which has a 12 kg limit - which is a lot for a backpack!

 

[lenaitch]

Am I correct in assuming that VIA regulates baggage/luggage as a means to control the amount due to lack of space? It's not like weight and balance is an issue similar to aircraft.

 

[crs1026]

Am I correct in assuming that VIA regulates baggage/luggage as a means to control the amount due to lack of space? It's not like weight and balance is an issue similar to aircraft.

That is likely one consideration, yes. However I would observe that other countries where there are no stated weight restrictions don’t necessarily provide oodles of rack space. Large suitcases are often problemmatic regardless of weight. Much of the laisse faire policy is based on the assumption (er, blind hope) that not too many people will max out on luggage, and if they do it’s to be lived with.

VIA’s luggage rack capacity is certainly fairly ample, although the closed overhead bins don’t help that.
VIA has always struggled with urges to import airline style practices as a means of appearing to be “modern“. Sometimes that’s successful, sometimes it isn’t. I would say that even if the ergonomics of low platform rise argue for restrictions in the interests of safety, VIA’s policy is not helping their cause - nobody wants the VIA rider experience to be as arbitrary and policy bound as airline travel.

I have to say as a traveller, it grates when I see someone hauling multiple suitcases and duffle bags into my space. There are lots of good reasons why people do that (hockey tournaments, moving away, etc) - and in my lifetime I have been that person - but I can’t fault them for trying to impose an upper boundary line. But haggling over a kg or two isn’t appropriate.

- Paul

 

[Urban Sky]

Am I correct in assuming that VIA regulates baggage/luggage as a means to control the amount due to lack of space? It's not like weight and balance is an issue similar to aircraft.

The number of items is limited to account for limited space on board and the weight restrictions are to facilitate boarding and handling of luggage, whereas the maximum dimensions are in place out of both considerations…